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Kaine was right to nix jail cost overrun

Re: "Governor says no to additional jail funds," Dec. 24 news story:

Congratulations to Tim Kaine, who said no to the state's paying $11 million toward a $22 million cost overrun on the new regional jail. While it may have been simply that he didn't have the money, I prefer to think he was loath to support a tax increase or a cut in necessary spending to bail out those involved. A 32 percent overrun is outrageous and shouldn't be stood for.

In your article, "inflation, Hurricane Katrina or the rising costs of concrete and steel" are blamed. Anyone who bids a large and lengthy job such as this should factor in inflation or be made to eat its cost. And hurricanes and such are routinely the subjects of force majeure clauses permitting contract modifications to soften or eliminate their effects.

What shouldn't be allowed is what apparently is going on here, namely, having construction proceed under a contract drawn up by some circus troupe and expecting the public to say "never mind" and pay up.

I would certainly like to be warmed by the heat of your paper's further investigation of this affair.

Thanks for sharing the gift of a father

My "simple gift" for this holiday was Ellen Harmon's wonderful essay on her father, Jack Wente, "Simply the best," and the delightful picture of him with his grandson (Dec. 24 Extra section). He was a truly unique individual with so much heart.

To know him was to get caught up in his enthusiasm for all of the wonderful flowers he grew. His ability to make the world around him beautiful with his horticultural magic was a delight for all who knew him.

The world is a better place because Wente was in it. Merry Christmas to his family and thank you, Harmon, for sharing a small piece of him with us.

After Obama's win, stay plugged in

Change has arrived. Obama has transformed his historic campaign network into a network for citizens to connect with each other. Community organizers across the nation will be able to utilize this network to efficiently and effectively address their communities' concerns.

Citizens are gathering to talk about the issues they care about and how they can be addressed. Energized by making history in November's election, they are ready and willing to create their future, a sustainable future, a prosperous future.

You have the power and ability to use the network to host your own event or to sign up to attend a local event. Log on to: tinyurl.com/7d462w.

Obama is encouraging us to work on community service projects before the inauguration, saying: "I'm asking you to believe. Not just to believe in my ability to bring change to Washington. I'm asking you to believe in yours."

Several people at the event I attended decided to work on a project to help the local food bank. Please join the cyber group for our area where announcements for the food bank fundraiser as well as other opportunities will be posted: tinyurl.com/8huz6h.

Member SWVA Star City Team

Mistreating dogs is not OK

I am a country girl -- a regular, red-meat-eating, Republican redneck from a place just as rural as Carroll County and just about as enlightened. That's OK. I don't mind unenlightened.

What I do mind is people assuming that folks in Carroll County think puppy mills like David Winesett's are OK. I am sure they don't. I am sure they are just as horrified and outraged as I am. They just don't know how to stop it.

Carroll County is a beautiful place full of rolling farmland and farmers who treat their animals -- even their livestock -- well. But they don't consider dogs livestock, and neither should we. Most of them wouldn't treat a hog the way Winesett is accused of treating his dogs, and nobody I know would condone puppy mills. They are barbaric.

What we all need to do -- yes, even us rednecks -- is take a stand and demand better animal law enforcement by county officials. Oh, and maybe we ought to run some of our county officials out of town on a good old-fashioned rail.

Police K9s are not ordinary dogs

Re: "Honoring slain dog was a waste," Dec. 21 letter:

What I find a waste was the time Karl Kroemer spent writing his letter and the space used to print his letter in the newspaper.

Would Kroemer also consider it a waste for fellow officers or military personnel to travel to show their love and support for a fallen brother because they may have investigations or a war to fight? If so, I pity him. Perhaps he sees this police K9 as a simple dog. I can tell him that no handler feels that way; the dogs are fellow police officers to them.

What if this police K9 had tracked and located a lost love one, or apprehended a suspect who had assaulted a loved one, or had given his life to save another? Would it still be a waste? These highly trained, working dogs will run toward danger to save their partners.

The next time Kroemer feels the need to write about something he knows nothing about, he should Google the subject so he would not sound so ignorant. I am the proud wife of a police K9 handler and proud mom to two police K9s.

Thoughtful words on suffering

Kudos to The Roanoke Times for printing Russell Noblett's thoughtful commentary, "Finding the world within" (Dec. 25). His thoughts concerning human suffering were made more meaningful by his reference to Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel (and countless others).

For believers, there is no "answer," but there is contemplation to be found in Noblett's words, "Yet Jesus was speaking of a world that we know within, a truer world than the one we see, truer because consciousness affirms that it could be." And " ... our consciousness cannot be something separate from God, that ours must be a manifestation of his. That is, our revulsion at human suffering is God's revulsion."

A commentary well worth reading.

Virginia CARES helps ex-offenders find jobs

Regarding the article "Offenders need skills, chances to find employment," Dec. 22:

I was disappointed to see no mention of Total Action Against Poverty's Virginia CARES (Community Action Re-Entry System) in Mike Gangloff's two-part series on ex-offenders re-entering their communities in Roanoke. Employment training/job placement for ex-offenders has been a focus of TAP's Virginia CARES since 1976.

An employment specialist at Virginia CARES maintains relationships with local employers and aids ex-offenders in establishing long-term employment so that they can truly re-integrate into society. The results don't lie: From July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008, Virginia CARES helped 76 clients become employed, followed 297 job leads, aided 19 clients in obtaining their GED, and provided 486 hours of career counseling to ex-offenders.

Gangloff is right about employment -- it is one of the best ways to keep ex-offenders from returning to a life of crime. But the story fell short on informing readers of the breadth of services that agencies in this region offer former prisoners.

Program manager TAP's Virginia CARES